Non-EU citizen travelling to UK with EU citizen friend, which queue to use?
I'm Brazilian and I'll be in Germany from October 26th till November 23rd visiting a German friend. We will go to London on November 15th till 17th, we intend to keep our money together, it means his credit card! But I know I may be asked to prove that I have money to spend these days there, in that case can my German friend join me in the queue of non-EU citizens?
I've been to Germany last year and on my way back I had to stay 11 hours in London (Heathrow) and I got a visa of 6 months because of that, just to wait at the airport, having got a visa already in the past can make me go through immigration in London more easily?
Best Answer
You are a Brazilian national travelling with an EU national. You will travel from Germany to an entry port in the UK. Brazilian nationals to not need an entry clearance.
can my German friend join me in the queue of non-EU citizens?
Yes, of course. He can join you in the queue and when your turn comes he or she can accompany you to the primary control point for your landing interview. This is not an overly big deal.
A more interesting question is can you join the EU queue with your friend? This is situation dependent. The Border Force has a policy that families should not be separated if there is any way to avoid it. This allows non-EU spouses and children to use the EU queue with the primary. In your case, you are in a casual relationship (I assume) and not a real family unit. So somebody MIGHT bark at you if you tried joining the EU queue. However, nothing prevents your trying, and if they are not busy, you might succeed. If not, they will send you to the back of the non-EU queue (and your friend can accompany you). This is also not an overly big deal, the controlling factor is whether they are busy or not.
Personal experience: in the days long, long ago when I was non-EU and needed visas and leave-to-enter and what-not, I preferred the EU queue because it was much quicker. If I spotted that the EU primary control point was idle I would just approach it and present my passport. What are they going to do? Scramble the paras? Call out the SBS? About 80% of the time it works. About 20% of the time there is a rigid IO who sent me back to the other queue. It's a great tip for frequent travellers.
having got a visa already in the past can make me go through immigration in London more easily?
They love to see peripatetic history in a passport. They totally eat it up. However if it looks like you are coming too often there will be problems. In your case, it's fine. Nothing in your narrative raises any flags IMHO.
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Can UK citizens use EU passport queue?
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Answer 2
I would go on different queues. no big deal to be separate for 10 mins and meet again near the baggage collection.
About the visa if last time you left on time you shouldn't have issue to get in this time.
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